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Killing fields Phnom Penh Cambodia

The killing fields are the companion to the S-21 museum in Phnom Penh where confessed criminals were taken to be executed. This is the last stop for many prisoners of the Khmer Rouge. The pictures above are from the S-21 museum depicting shooting babies in the air and bashing them against trees while their mothers were forced to watch. The picture below is a saw-tooth palm used to cut the throats of the prisoners to execute them.

There were many mass graves found at the site. Some of the grave sites have memorials built but many are just pits in the ground. The picture below shows a field with a shed in the background. This shed was used to store tools used to execute victims.

Even prison guards were not spared. The pit above was the site of the headless graves. Guards or anyone who disobeyed were beheaded. Their bodies thrown in the pit and their heads put on display to caution other guards from disobeying.

Bone fragments and clothes still surface after rains at the site. These are collected and below are just some recent examples.

Pictured above is the tree where babies were bashed to death. There was pieces of skin, hair and brain tissue lodged in the bark. the picture below is the pit where babies remains were discovered next to the tree.

The tree pictured above was used to mount loud speakers where national music was played to drown out the sounds of the executions.

The last picture is of the skulls on display on the first level of the monument.

The Killing Fields Monument is a sad memorial to the victims but also serves to educate about government atrocities in hopes that genocide like this never happens again.